Pirate for the Sea – A Hit at the Telluride Film Festival

September 2, 2008

Pirate for the Sea - A Hit at the Telluride Film Festival

Ron Colby's film biography of Captain Paul Watson was a hit at this year's Telluride Film Festival.

The 100 minute film entitled Pirate for the Sea was completed only one week before the Telluride Film Festival opened. Ron Colby, spent eight years working on this project including participating as a crewmember on voyages to Cocos Island in 2002, Antarctica in 2005 and to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2006. The film includes interviews with Martin Sheen, and Farley Mowat in addition to numerous crew-members.

The film was shown three times at the Festival to a packed house on Saturday morning and to a large crowd of around 500 people in a free outdoor public showing Saturday evening. It was shown again on Monday morning September 1st and dozens of people had to be turned away when the theater was once again packed. There was also a fourth showing to the High School students in Telluride.

On Saturday afternoon of August 30th, Captain Paul Watson was the featured guest of esteemed documentarian Ken Burns in a "town hall" discussion at the San Juan County Courthouse in Telluride.

Captain Watson had the opportunity to meet and discuss the film and Sea Shepherd's work with hundreds of people including Salman Rushdie, Daryl Hannah, Jeff Goldblum, Tracy Chapman and many others.

"Ron Colby has done an incredible job in producing, directing, writing and narrating this film," said Captain Paul Watson. "It was difficult for me to judge if the film was good or not being that I could hardly be objective about a film about myself. But from the audience reaction to the film in all three showings, there is no doubt that it is a great film and Ron Colby did a magnificent job in putting it together."

Captain Watson and Ron Colby at the Telluride Film Festival

Captain Watson and Ron Colby answering questions after the screening of Pirate For the Sea

Ken Burns interviews Captain Watson

Daryl Hannah and Captain Paul Watson at the Telluride Film Festival September 1st, 2008